What Is This Book?

[Daisy Pusher]

OK, I need the help of the YA lovers out there.

Anybody remember the ABC Afternoon Special called The Great Love Experiment, where the really popular girl (played by Tracy Pollan) does a Pygmalion thing with the class wallflower, who of course exceeds her mentor in the popularity game?

Anyway, I could have sworn, SWORN that that was based directly on a book, or that they did one of those novels to capitalize on the show (kind of like the Pretty in Pink book that came out AFTER the film). I swear I remember reading a book with the same character names. Or am I just crazy???

[Deleted]

smilla said:

I would be eternally thankful to the Greecie who helped me locate this book. Thanks, again.

The book isn't familiar to me, but have you tried ABEBooks' Booksleuth forum? I used it several years ago to track down a book that I probably never would have found otherwise (my library had had it misfiled as adult instead of YA).

[Deleted]

There was this book I read about 15-20 years ago. I want to say it's a part of a YA series, but I'm not certain. There is a 12 year old girl named Billie who is a complete tomboy (her mother is the only one that ever calls her by her real name which I think is Belinda). She plays softball and takes daily runs with her father who is in the military. She finds out that her mother is going to have a baby boy. Her dad is excited since he can name the baby William (nicknamed Billy) after his father. Her mother asks if Billie would mind moving to the spare room and turn her room into the nursery since it is closest to the parents' room. Billie gets jealous, but then the baby comes and she realizes that her father loves her just as much as her brother. And I think she asks to be called by her full name from now on.

Anyone?

[Xerox]

I don't remember the actual book title, but it was one of the Sweet Valley Twins books.

[Deleted]

Thank you! It's Sweet Valley Twins Standing Out.

[Deleted]

Here's a long shot. I'm looking for a young adult book I checked out of the library twice in the early 80's. A 12 year old girl lives with her grandfather (her mother, named Norma and smelling faintly of lemons, had abandoned her). The angst! A little boy, some sort of relative, comes from Australia to live with them. The protaganist initially hates him and makes his life hell, but then realizes in the end (of course) that she loves him. This little boy constantly wears an Australian Bush hat. The rotten but loveable protaganist also works at the malt shop (possibly owned by her grandfather), and puts a dead cockroach into the ice cream sundae of the popular/pretty/rich girl she so envies.

I have convinced myself that the title of this masterpiece was I'd Rather Be a Turnip, but I have found absolutely zilch for this title. Anyone have any idea? Did I imagine this book in my fevered, 12 year old brain?

[luciano]

snarkylyn said:

I have convinced myself that the title of this masterpiece was I'd Rather Be a Turnip, but I have found absolutely zilch for this title. Anyone have any idea? Did I imagine this book in my fevered, 12 year old brain?

I Would Rather Be A Turnip. Darn contractions. ;D

[Deleted]

Thank you, Auron! I feel like a dope now, but at least I'm a really happy dope.

[Deleted]

This is going to be so obscure and random that if someone actually knows this book, I'd have to give you a prize of some sort.

When I was a kid in the early 80's, I read a very strange gothic romance paperback that I always wanted to get a hold of again. On the cover was the typical woman in a hoopskirt/damsel in distress, but the interesting part was there was alsoa dwarf and a lurch like guy on it.

The story was of a daughter going to live wit her mother who married this dwarf millionaire. She always had headaches and was fond of her laudenaum. There was some murder plot a foot and the dwarf tried killing the heroine by burying her alive and I never got to finish the book! I always wanted to know what happened.

So yeah, total shot in the dark.

[Deleted]

If anyone knows this book I'll love you forever. I don't know when it was published, but I read it a few years ago when I did work-study at the library (good for reading, bad for working).

Anyways the book was about Santa and this girl that grows up to love him, in a physical way and there's also a Tooth Fairy plot in there. I believe the Tooth Fairy craps out money. The Easter Bunny is there too. If I remember correctly, he's an oversexed lunatic who is jealous of Santa. And Zeus makes an appearance at the end.

I told my husband about this book, because it's just so weird, but he doesn't that it exists. Please help me prove that I'm not crazy!